CMHC backing fewer loans

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is cutting back on mortgages it insures as the Crown corporation edges closer to a $600-billion cap imposed on it by the federal government, the Financial Post has learned.

A CMHC spokesman confirmed that it had approached a number of lenders at the end of 2011 about reducing its “bulk or portfolio insurance” after third-quarter results showed the agency had committed to back $541-billion in mortgages. CMHC, which guarantees mortgages held by financial institutions, is ultimately backed by the federal government and needs approval to go over the $600-billion limit — something that would create greater risk for taxpayers should the housing market collapse.

“CMHC has recently received an unexpected level of requests for large amounts of CMHC portfolio insurance.” said Charles Sauriol, a spokesman for the Crown corporation, in an email.

“To ensure equitable access to portfolio insurance within CMHC’s annual limits, an allocation process is being established which has caused some delays. Portfolio insurance provides lenders with the ability to purchase insurance on pools of previously uninsured low ratio mortgages and does not impact CMHC’s transactional business.”

Financial institutions are required to have mortgage-default insurance when a consumer has less than 20% equity. However, the banks have been seeking insurance on loans with even high downpayments — something not required by law — so they can securitize those bulk lending loans, thereby getting them off their balance sheets and reducing their capital requirements. In those cases in which the loans to value is less than 80%, the bank pays the insurance charge instead of the consumer.

“One of the things that has got them [to the limit] faster than expected is they are doing a lot of conventional insurance for lenders,” said one source. Just three years ago,  CMHC had $450-billion in loans it was backstopping and had to go to the government to get that increased to $600-billion.

“I think as a taxpayer you should care. The policy question is why should the Canadian taxpayer take that type of meltdown risk within CMHC,” the source said.

The risk to the taxpayer would be a collapse in the market leading to a defaults like the U.S. saw. If CMHC couldn’t cover those defaults, Ottawa is on the hook for 100% of any shortfall.

On the surface, insuring conventional loans may not appear as risky as traditional mortgage default insurance because it comes with more equity. The banks have been demanding ultra low fees on the conventional mortgages, arguing the equity position makes them a lower risk. However, lenders are skimming their portfolio to load up mortgages that are 70% to 80% debt to equity and may also have other problems, said a source.

With mortgage defaults well below 1%, some might argue the risk to CMHC is negligible. “If you look at what is backing [CMHC’s] guarantee, it should be more than enough to cover any downturn in the market,” said one banking source, who asked not to be identified, about CMHC’s cash reserves. “Besides, what will the government do, not increase their limit? This could kill the entire housing market.”

CMHC gave no indication it would seek an increase in its limit.

“CMHC’s mortgage loan insurance limit in force is $600-billion. CMHC manages its mortgage loan insurance business in accordance with this limit,” said Mr. Sauriol.

The Crown corporation would be going to the government looking for an increase in its limit at a time when both Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have been casting a wary eye at the housing market.

“We watch the housing market carefully and we are prepared to intervene if necessary. Having said that, we’re not about to intervene in the housing market now,” said Mr. Flaherty this month. For his part, Mr. Carney said “we see that in a number of real estate markets in Canada, valuations are at a minimum, firm; in others, they’re probably overvalued. So there are risks there.”

Sources have indicated the government is already considering tough new measures for calculating how the self-employed qualify for loans and tightening regulations for condominium buyers, so there is probably little appetite for backstopping even more debt from CMHC. In addition to CMHC, the government has a $300-billion limit for private mortgage default insurers. (source - Financial Post - Garry Marr) 

MPP Rod Jackson goes one-on-one with the Examiner, sharing his take on provincial politics

Check out this interview between MPP Rod Jackson & Barrie Examiner regarding City of Barrie and Province. This is for informational purposes only and please refrain from any Political attacks. This is a re-posting from the Barrie Examiner - by Cheryl Brown

Barrie MPP Rod Jackson has been on an interesting ride since winning last fall’s provincial election.

From fighting against bumper pads for autistic children, and calming rooms in elementary schools, to last fall’s prorogation at Queen’s Park, to attending the opposition Liberal party’s leadership race last weekend, Jackson has found his footing while he says the province has lost its way.

A one-on-one at the Examiner shone some light on Progressive Conservative politician’s take on the last 15 months as Barrie’s local member of provincial parliament.

EXAMINER: What did you think of the recent election of premier-designate Kathleen Wynne?

JACKSON: I was there on the floor with observer status. I had to pay $1,000 to go, but I had the best seat in the house, right in the middle with camera crews, so I could see what was going on on the floor. So it will show up on their books that I made a $1,000 donation to the Liberal party.

With Wynne, I don’t think her win has anything to do with gender or sexuality, just her ability to get the job done.

The Liberals are in a lot of trouble now and Wynne has a seat; they couldn’t wait for (Sandra) Pupatello to hold a byelection and get a seat. I think they knew they needed someone to get them back into parliament as soon as possible.

EXAMINER: What needs to be done with regards to public servants jobs?

JACKSON: That’s where Wynne is a lot like (Premier) Dalton McGuinty. He created 300,000 public-service jobs in his nine years as leader. They’re not wealth-generating jobs; it’s a vicious circle where they’re paid by taxes, they spend money in the community, that money goes into taxes which pays their jobs. You can’t afford to grow the province that way.

EXAMINER: What do you think needs to be fixed in the education sector now?

JACKSON: The Education Quality and Accountability of Ontario (EQAO) concept has merit. You hear teachers are manipulating the tests. So you want to know how the individuals are really performing. You’re not getting a snapshot of that, so I don’t think it’s objective enough.

There should be a reassessment for teachers, not just for students. We assess the learning and performing of students and know they’re only a product of our efforts of teaching them.

When my private member’s bill concerning (banning) bumper pads died on the table (when the government was prorogued Oct. 15) it was past second reading and had gone to committee.

My intention is to bring it back and the positive side of it is, I get to redo it, so I can add the calming rooms misuse to it.

I’m not opposed to calming rooms, where children can go to calm down, but I am opposed to calming rooms that do anything but calm down the children, where they’re left alone in a locked room the size of a janitor’s closet.

That’s not appropriate and if you did that to your kid at home, the Children’s Aid Society would be involved.

I’ve seen calming rooms that worked in the George Bailey Public School (for autistic children). So there is a benchmark for this that we’ve got to follow.

The negative thing is, for that and the Simcoe County District School Board using bumper pads, we get negative national attention in the media. I’ve had our leader (Tim Hudak) call and say ‘What’s going on up there?’

The legislature is full of young members who have young families. We have to work together — across party lines — to protect the most vulnerable people in our communities.

EXAMINER: What about a Barrie university on the lands where Barrie Central Collegiate is now?

JACKSON: It’s on everyone’s radar. I talked to Minister of Training Colleges and Universities Glen Murray about it on Saturday. We need to understand it’s not going to look like what everybody thinks it should look like. I don’t mean we’ll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Barrie’s prime for a university and Barrie’s geography is what we’ve got going for us. But we can’t build silos; a new university doesn’t have to be a stand alone one of.

We (different levels of government) need to come together to talk about what our needs are. My fear is that we’ll move too

far along one path. We need to let everyone (in the ministry) know we’re ready for it and we’re flexible.

EXAMINER: What can we do to lower unemployment rates in Barrie?

JACKSON: The biggest employer in Barrie is small businesses, those with under four employees. We’d love to see big plants. Places like Moore Packaging and South Medics are the success stories of this region. Moore Packaging started in a garage and expanded to a staff of 300 people.

The Liberals have created road blocks and obstacles for small business. Just the number of permits they have to have creates disinterest (for small business owners).

There’s so much red tape standing in the way, so government has to get out of the way because I don’t know any small business that doesn’t want to grow.

EXAMINER: Is there still a place for unions in this economy?

JACKSON: The labour legislation hasn’t changed since the ’40s. The public sector (payroll) takes half of the government’s total budget. I think unions need to be made accountable. Currently, unions don’t have to explain how they spend their dues. So, they’re using people’s money, who don’t have a choice and are forced to join the union. I mean, teachers were fined $500 if they didn’t toe the line.

EXAMINER: Will Springwater Provincial Park close March 31?

JACKSON: I like that park (and) we’ve taken our kids there. I think it’s a good analogy of what’s wrong with this government. Instead of looking at ways to generate more income, they close it.

The park will still be there, but with no animals and just overgrown (vegetation). Some organizations are trying to save it and I’ve facilitated meetings and brought those plans to the ministry (of natural resources).

The ministry is using their own business plan. They should be thinking outside of the box. Maybe Barrie and Springwater (Township) can run it together? Maybe there are other options. This just happened so fast. The MNR didn’t consult with local MPPs. There was none of that, we were just told they were closing the park.

EXAMINER: What’s your opinion of Ontario’s current overall state of affairs?

JACKSON: We’re interested in making government work. Tim (Hudak) been aggressively touring across Ontario showing our hands, putting our cards on the table, saying these are our plans. We’re not shy about saying what we think. The NDP’s cards aren’t on the table, and I think it’s incumbent on them telling us what they’re doing.

Wynne is going to continue Dalton’s legacy. They want to contribute more to social services. We don’t have a revenue problem in Ontario, we have a spending problem.

If you look at the e-Health, OLG (Ontario Lottery and Gaming), ORNGE and the gas-plant fiasco in Mississauga, there’s been huge scandal and massive amounts of money misspent. The average person can’t comprehend the amount of money lost.

We were always a have-province, yet we’ve come out of this a have-not province. Our unemployment rate is below Newfoundland’s. We have the Ring of Fire (northern mining), and we’re the financial heart of Canada and we still have the most manufacturing jobs in Canada.

There’s no excuse for us to be an under-performing province, yet somehow we found our way to the bottom of the pile.”

EXAMINER: What are the next steps?

JACKSON: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention TNT, the Training and Trades Initiative I have going with Mayor Jeff Lehman. We need skilled trades in this market, and we’re creating a program to help them succeed and make it less difficult to become or hire an apprentice.

And we’ve got to do a better job with skilled foreign newcomers. We’re losing good people to other provinces. We’ve got the brain drain and brain waste; where doctors and engineers are either leaving or they’re driving cabs. We’ve got the PNP — the Provincial Nomination Program — in Ontario, and we’ve got to do a better job taking advantage of that program.

Funding expected to save city of Barrie almost $200,000 - Allandale Rec Centre

Substantial savings on four city projects allows new spending on a Barrie community centre and park.

These projects are $2.15 million under budget, and more than $1.9 million of that money will now fund the city’s share of refurbishing Lampman Lane Community Centre and Park, worth $2.9 million in total.

“In accordance with the city’s capital project control policies, the excess funds are returned to the source reserve — in this case the tax capital reserve,” said Blaine Parkin, Barrie’s director of corporate asset management.

The other $943,800 comes from the federal Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF), and was announced last Saturday.

City officials found excess funds of $1,060,489 in the Livingstone Street West project, from Sunnidale Road to Bayfield Street.

“For the Livingstone Street road project, the city benefitted from a particularly competitive bidding environment at the time of tendering,” said Barrie engineering director Bob Kahle. “On most projects there are ‘unknowns’ that arise — for example ground conditions worse than expected, etc. — that weren’t experienced on this project.”

There were also $193,311 in savings found in the Redfern Avenue culvert at Bear Creek.

“Late 2010, and 2011 was a particularly good year for getting competitive pricing,” Kahle said. “Culvert works of this nature have the potential for encountering worse-than-expected soil conditions, and we account for this in our initial budgeting and contingencies.

“However, on Redfern, we did not have any issues arise that required payment beyond the tender items. This is highly unusual, in my 36 years of experience in construction.”

Kahle also said the economic climate contributed to savings.

“I can only surmise that, after the bubble of work created by the infrastructure stimulus program, that the contractors were once again hungry and providing good pricing,” he said.

There was also $800,000 saved on Barrie’s No. 5 fire hall.

“With respect to interim Station 5, city staff were successful in negotiating a lower-than-expected cost for the necessary renovations, and therefore have excess funds that again can be returned to the source reserve account,” Parkin said.

And $100,000 was saved on modernizing the environmental systems at MacLaren Art Centre.

“The city was successful in applying and receiving a grant for the work to be undertaken at the MacLaren, and therefore a portion of that project budget can be returned to the tax capital reserve as well,” Parkin said.

Lampman Lane’s tennis courts will be rebuilt, the existing swimming pool will be changed to an accessible splash pad, the washrooms will be upgraded and repaired. The park will also be landscaped.

CIIF will support communities, and create jobs, by repairing and improving existing facilities during the next two years.

The fund, which totals $150 million, is to benefit many types of community infrastructure — including community centres, cultural centres, parks, libraries, recreational facilities, tourism facilities, and other existing community facilities which have a local impact.

All projects must be completed by March 31, 2014. Bob Bruton - Examiner

(photo: Barrie MP Patrick Brown, centre, announced $943,800 from the CIIF fund on behalf of Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, for Lampman Lane Community Centre and park refurbishment in Barrie. On hand for the event were Coun. Alex Nuttall, left, and Mayor Jeff Lehman. KIM JEFFERY PHOTO

$4.1-million increase to city salaries, benefits - City of Barrie

3.3% tax hike is given the ok!

So who’s counting?

Barrie homeowners are, as city council increased their property taxes by 3.3% this year on Monday night.

That adds $119 to a typical Barrie home assessed at $277,000; it had taxes of $3,625 last year. With that blended, municipal/education tax increase this property’s 2013 tax total will be $3,744.

“The financial pressures are significant,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “All of us would have liked to see a lower number.”

Council made a number of reductions to the budget Monday, lowering the increase from 3.5%. It began at 4.1% on Jan. 21.

“It was a very hard process, from 4.1 to 3.3,” said Coun. Peter Silveira.

Ed Archer, Barrie’s general manager of community operations, provided council with a list of nearly $400,000 worth of possible cuts last week.

On Monday, council saved $115,000 by adjusting expenditures on the city’s fleet of vehicles (dump trucks, flatbed trucks), found another $90,000 in salary gapping — money saved when city employees leave and aren’t replaced right away — saved $63,000 by adjusting service levels in the new transit plan and cut $45,000 from the city’s community improvement plan program.

“This is an unusual budget year. There is a little pain from past years,” Lehman said

The mayor noted 1.2% of the tax increase is for debt from previous years of economic stimulus, and that socking away another $2.2 million this year in reserves, for roads and infrastructure, is another 1.1% of the tax hike.

“That’s a 1% operating cost increase, year over year, in service delivery,” he said. “That’s very, very low.”

The 2013 operating budget/capital plan was approved unanimously by council Monday, the third consecutive budget passed that way.

“Every single (city) department touched the budget and there was a tremendous amount of work done,” said Coun. Michael Prowse, chairman of Barrie’s finance committee.

“At the end of it we have a fair and balanced budget, to move the corporation forward.”

Lehman noted there is money in the budget for Barrie’s fifth fire station, environmental work for Lake Simcoe, a new transit plan, refurbishing Lampman Lane Community Centre, the Duckworth Street/Highway 400 interchange and moving Lakeshore Drive back to the old CN Rail line.

This year there’s also funding for a new transit garage, road widening, rehab and reconstruction of city streets and Sandy Hollow landfill re-engineering.

Staff had again recommended ending the one free yearly trip Barrie residents enjoy to the landfill with a load of 100 kilograms or less, at a savings of $195,000. But councillors wouldn’t go for it, and that freebee continues.

But not every request was met.

Coun. Bonnie Ainsworth asked for another $500,000 this year for roadwork — repaving and planing. Last year the city spent $1 million on its road revitalization project, but only completed 14 of 22 roads identified.

Ainsworth wanted that list of roads that could not be scheduled within at least six years completed.

Staff looked at whether federal gas tax funding could be used, but concluded it should not.

Of the residential property tax bill, 49% pays for city services, 16% is for education and 35% is for the city’s service partners — the County of Simcoe, Barrie city police, Barrie Public Library, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Lake Simcoe Regional Airport and the conservation authorities.

Barrie homeowners also face other cost increases this year besides property taxes.

The budget includes a 7% hike in water rates and a 12% sewer rates increase. For the typical Barrie home, that equals another $49.

A household consuming 180 cubic metres of water in 2012 paid $277 for water and $323 for sewer charges, a total of $600. The 2013 water/sewer bill, based on the same consumption, would be $649.

Adding the blended 3.3% property tax increase and the water/sewer rate hike adds another $168 to household expenses this year.

Council asked its service partners to keep their budget increases to 3% or less this year.

The city police budget, for example, hires no new Barrie officers, no new civilian employees and offers no extra service beyond core policing.

It asks for a 3% increase in policing costs, to almost $44.9 million from nearly $43.6 million in 2012, a $1.3-million hike.

Barrie’s portion of Simcoe County’s budget drops by $1.2 million this year, savings that can be attributed to the provincial uploading of Ontario Works costs.

The $20.5 million Barrie is providing to the county helps pay for social services, paramedics, social housing, Simcoe County Museum and Archives.

This year’s Barrie fire department budget is $22.3 million, an increase from last year’s $20.2 million spending level. The 2013 fire budget includes $1.1 million relating to hiring 20 firefighters for new Fire Station #5.

But council delayed spending $1.2 million, over two years, for a new aerial platform truck, replacing an existing 75-foot one with a 100-foot model, to improve firefighters’ ability to respond to high-rise fires and other emergencies. Instead $400,000 will be spent in 2014, $800,000 in 2015.

The city has two aerial trucks and one in reserve, but the latter is 17 years old and it’s difficult to find parts. It takes about 16 months to get a new fire truck, once ordered.

Barrie’s total 2013 tax-rate based gross operating costs are $250.2 million, compared to $249.5 million budgeted last year. This includes $71.9 million for the salaries and benefits of 725 jobs.

This year’s budget includes a $4.1-million increase in salaries and benefits for city employees. This is due to negotiated increases for both CUPE and Barrie firefighters, as well as full-year costs for new city employees who started work last year.

The city is saving $12.2 million in its general operations budget this year, mostly because its final commitment to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s expansion and cancer care centre is $2.5 million in 2013. Last year it was $16 million.

Lehman also said another $11 million in city debt has been cut this year, which improves the city’s fiscal future.

“This builds on more than $25 million of debt reduction through council’s changes to last year’s budget,” he said. “We need to do everything possible to limit the city’s reliance on debt for its capital plan, while still doing the critical work that the city needs.

“Now that the stimulus period is over, the city needs to cut back its capital plan and cut the amount of debt used to fund projects.”

Staff have said Barrie’s financial sustainability is declining. Past decisions to rely on debt financing are having a more significant impact on the city’s operating costs, now that this debt needs to be repaid. New debt this year will total $2.4 million

The city’s level of reserves and reserve funds are projected to drop by $62.4 million or 48% this year. This means user rates and development charges, as well as taxes, are not keeping pace with current or planned spending levels for capital works — even with capital spending being reduced to $129 million.

This year the city is increasing its contributions to reserves by $2.2 million.

The city has a 12-year plan to increase funding for rehab and renewal, and the 2013 capital budget is the second year of following this plan.

“It’s a document that adjusts some service levels while maintaining our assets and planning responsibly for the future,” Archer said.

City officials expect tax assessment growth of $1.5 million this year, as well as user fees and charges worth $17.1 million. The majority of fees and charges come from recreation/leisure programs, and transit services.

Ontario municipalities can’t budget for an operating deficit; the books must balance.

The Power Of Equity

The ability to access equity is one of the most powerful tools you can use to expand your portfolio. Vincent Power explains how to get around the tighter lending policies that are now confronting many investors 

Whether you invest in property for the equity growth or for the rental return, no one can deny that equity will help you buy the next one. 

You buy property, watch it grow in value over time or you can increase its value through renovation and/or development, creating equity. In the end, accessing that equity is an important part of owning investment property. 

Equity is the lifeblood of a property investor. Without equity the investor can run into problems that can, potentially, only be solved by selling and if you are in it for the long haul, problems like those must be avoided. 

The secrets to releasing equity that I will discuss will apply whether you have one property and are thinking about buying an investment property or whether you already own multiple properties. It doesn't matter whether you are self-employed. 

While the details may change for each category, the principles remain the same throughout. Accessing equity is about applying specific principles to your finance position, just as successful property investing revolves around repeating successful strategies over and over again. 

Lender diversity is the key 

One of the first things to do is to split up the portfolio into separate facilities with separate lenders. For some investors this will be hard to come to grips with. The No. 1 reason that investors end up with a portfolio financed with only one lender is convenience. 

I was going to say laziness but perhaps that's too harsh. There is no doubt that it is very convenient to have a personal banker "on call" to approve any new purchases and there is also the attraction of a lower than normal rate if the portfolio is big enough. That's the myth. The facts are that your personal banker is not allocated to you alone. 

He or she is a personal banker to hundreds of bank clients and all too often they change jobs regularly. Just when you get used to one, they are promoted (if they are good at their job) or transferred to another area (if they aren't suited to it). 

The other issue is that these days banks don't see large portfolios on their books as a good thing. Think about this. Larger loans attract greater risk for the bank so naturally, they keep an eye on them. At the first sign of danger who will they look at first? The worst part is the bank will always have control over your ability to increase your financial position. I don't know about you but I do not think the bank has the right to tell me if I can be rich or not! 

The simple answer to this inherent problem is to have multiple lenders looking after your portfolio. Yes, this means you have to take responsibility for the management and review of the portfolio but it does give you more safety, more flexibility and more control. 

Understandably this is not as easy today as it has been in the past; however diversity is extremely important to your ability to keep moving forward. 

Diversity gives you the ability to refinance a single property without notifying every lender that you have done so. Remember we want equity. Equity will enable you to buy again or hold on during tough times. I am not advocating withholding information from a lender here. That would be wrong on so many levels. 

What I am saying is that the lender you want to get finance from is the only one, at that point in time, who needs to know about this particular transaction. 

Naturally, when you next deal with another lender, at another time, your current details will be required for that loan application. 

The existing lenders do not need to know about your new loan until you approach them for another loan down the track. Another advantage of using separate lenders is that each lender has their own method of calculating your maximum borrowing amount. 

These calculators are reviewed regularly and get updated when interest rates change as well as when other factors alter either in the economy or the risk profile within the lender itself. 

Source: Canadian Real Estate Magazine Editorial Team

Barrie - Jobs - Hinduja Global Solutions considering setting up call centre in Barrie

Come springtime, a few hundred Barrie-area people looking for work could be celebrating.

It will be a few weeks yet before job seekers at the Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) job fair at the Southshore Centre find out if they’ve found employment.

The company is considering setting up a call centre in Barrie for incoming customer service calls for telecommunications, financial and tech support firms. It is not a telemarketing company.

HGS Canada has opened three sites in Ontario in the past two years: Thunder Bay in 2010, North Bay in early 2011 and Belleville in the summer of 2012. If it decides to locate another facility in Barrie, it will be the sixth in the province and the 10th in Canada.

Kathy Follett-Lloyd, of HGS, said more than 2,000 applications were received online and more than 1,000 job seekers attended the job fair on Friday and Saturday.

Deciding whether or not HGS locates to Barrie will take some time, she added.

“The decision making-process will take us at least 30 to 60 days as we analyze the resumes and investigate possible locations for a centre,” she said Monday.

Hany Kirolos, the city’s director of economic development, said interest in the job fair was outstanding.

“Advance applications broke all previous records for similar exercises in other cities by HGS. The two-day in person job fair showing was also very strong,” he said.

“As an inbound call centre, it is part of the data warehousing value chain emerging as a huge cluster for the City of Barrie,” he said. “We will continue to work with HGS through their process and assist wherever we can to ensure we win this business.”

If that win comes to pass, it can only mean good things for Barrie, Kirolos said.

“Five hundred jobs from a single company, an in-bound call centre that’s going to train, a good brand name recognized for its excellence and promoting from within, all speak to why it’s so important — in any job market — to get this business,” he said. “It reinforces Barrie as a great place to do business for those considering to establish (or relocate) a new business

like HGS and its magnitude of investment.”

Kirolos said getting all the players involved in trying to secure HGS highlights the advantages of working to together.

“From the mayor and council, our MP and MPP, regional economic development departments and employment agencies: all got the word out, and it paid off,” he said.

The job application portal at www.joinhgs.com will remain open for several weeks to come to give all those who could not attend the job fair an opportunity to apply.

Barrie/Innisfil - OLG Says Slots Staying At Georgian Downs

INNISFIL - Workers at Georgian Downs racetrack say they are facing an uncertain future after last year’s decision by the provincial Liberals to end the Slots at Racetracks program (SARP).

But odds are good that a slots facility will remain at Georgian Downs.

Officials in the horse industry say 55,000 jobs across the province are on the line.

About 80 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) work at the Innisfil oval. Full- and part-time employees include kitchen staff (chefs, first cooks, second cooks, dishwashers, short order cooks, etc.), bartenders, servers, gift shop staff, maintenance staff for the track, mutuel tellers and hostesses.

If the Slots at Racetracks program is cut, the Georgian Downs racetrack workers will lose their jobs as part of a greater industry-wide collapse, says Sharon DeSousa, PSAC regional executive vice-president for Ontario.

“Now that it’s served her purpose, she’s getting rid of it.”

“Over 80 workers and their families are dealing with the insecurity and stress of losing their jobs. This government is playing games with the livelihoods of these families and taking more good jobs away from this community," she said. "What is truly heartbreaking is that none of this is necessary and these families are suffering because the government is failing to realize it’s cutting a program that works for everyone.”

The SARP agreement — created under the government of former Conservative premier Mike Harris more than a decade ago — used to see 10% of gambling revenues going to the tracks, 10% to people in the horse industry, 5% to the host municipality and 75% going to the government.

DeSousa said alliance representatives have spoken to a number of members at Georgian Downs recently.

"A few remarks of interest that were expressed by the workers were (that) management is saying they have no idea what is going to happen now that the Slots at Racetrack program is over. They don’t know if they might have to drastically reduce hours, close their doors or stay open," she said.

A spokesman for Great Canadian Gaming, owners of Georgian Downs, could not shed any light on the facility’s future, Tuesday.

"We cannot provide any comment at this time," said Howard Blank, vice-president of corporate communications for Great Canadian Gaming.

PSAC launched a Fight Back campaign last weekend to put pressure on Liberal delegates — who will choose their next leader this weekend and who Ontario’s interim premier will be — to vote for candidates who plan to protect the Slots at Racetracks program, or delay its elimination until a responsible transition is set in place. The alliance’s intention is to ensure that good jobs are part of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) modernization plan.

"We asked the government in March 2012 to decouple OLG from the 1998 policy from the Slots at Racetrack program that said gaming can only be expanded at racetracks. They agreed and that policy no longer exists," said OLG spokesman Tony Bitonti. "The government also went further and cancelled the funding to the horse industry from the slot revenues in the 2012 budget."

OLG currently leases space at Georgian Downs, as it does for all its slot facilities. It does not own any tracks.

"Our modernization will ultimately have private-sector operators take over the day-to-day operation of our facilities," Bitonti said. "So now any interested private-sector operators can look at the gaming zone and look at the options it has. Does it make sense to stay put and possibly expand or should we relocate? They have to develop a business plan, work with the municipality on zoning issues, etc., and the OLG will have to authorize a commercially viable plan by any private-sector operator."

OLG will release the request for prequalification, the second part of its three-part procurement process for the zone that Georgian Downs is in, later this year, Bitonti said.

"This is to get a short list of the best of the best of the qualified gaming companies. These companies will then be invited to the request for proposal (RFP) stage: the bidding stage," he added.

Bitonti said gaming has a future at Georgian Downs.

"Innisfil continues to want to be a host community and ... it doesn’t appear that Barrie wants to be a host. So that means the gaming facility will stay in Innisfil," he said.

"We are currently working with all racetrack owners to negotiate a new lease agreement for a short term — three to five years — which will be transfered to the private-sector operator," he said. "This will give the new operators the time to determine what they want to do with the facility."

OLG currently has lease agreements with two sites: Western Fair in London and Kawartha Downs.

McDonald’s and gas station closing at Cookstown entrance Feb. 1 for revamping; closure will affect nearly 200 staff members

"Orders Up at Highway 400 Service Centre" Barrie Examiner (new service centre to take place)

The Highway 400/Highway 89 service centre will close on Feb. 1 as the Ministry of Transportation prepares to refurbish the site in line with its other ONroute centres along 400-series highways. IAN MCINROY BARRIE EXAMINER

INNISFIL - The days are numbered for a mainstay of many travellers on Highway 400 near Cookstown.

The southbound lanes service centre — which has a McDonald’s and a Petro Can — at County Road 89 will be closed effective Feb. 1, meaning GTA-bound commuters and other motorists will have to gas up or get their Big Macs somewhere else.

The site will eventually be reopened as an ONroute as part of the Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) rebranding of its 400-series highways service centres.

The ministry currently has 23 of the facilities along highways 400 and 401 and 20 of these sites are being modernized to better serve both commercial and private motorists. The northbound ONroute in Barrie, currently under construction, is expected to reopen this summer.

“Although the previous service centres served motorists well for many years, they were outdated and no longer met the requirements of the travelling public. Consequently, these sites are being redeveloped to better serve highway travellers,” MTO spokesman Bob Nichols said.

“Activities to decommission and clean up the site are anticipated to begin in the following months. Once the clean-up activities are complete, we’ll be able to confirm the construction timeline,” he said. “During construction, this redevelopment project will create approximately 350 construction-related jobs and additional jobs with other economic spin-offs.”

To date, the province has completed the redevelopment of 16 service centres, branded as ONroute, Nichols added.

Janet Howard was travelling back to Toronto from North Bay recently when she stopped into the Petro Can to fill her tank.

“It won’t inconvenience me that much,” she said of the imminent closure. “I usually gas up where it’s cheaper. There are lots of places just off the (400) highway.”

But families travelling along the highway looking for a quick bite to eat might be a little more disappointed, she added.

“I could see where some people would be inconvenienced by not having the McDonald’s open,” Howard said.

About 175 people will be affected by the closure, according to Stephanie Sorensen of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada.

“We are very disappointed with MTO’s decision to close the McDonald’s Cookstown location. Our focus now is to provide our crew with the support that they need, and to continue to serve our customers until the restaurant closes on Feb. 1. We will relocate as many people as we can, however it’s too early to determine how many people this will be.”

In October, McDonalds announced to employees that the service centre will be closing as of Feb. 1. Human resources met with staff individually to discuss the closure in further detail.

Samantha Holochuk, an employee of McDonald’s for the past four years, said that she is “bummed out” regarding the closure.

“I’ve met a lot of nice people and now I have to say bye to everyone,” she said.

When asked about the closure, one employee/student said that she is “stressed,” pointing out that she has been dependant on her job for the past two years.

Nichols said the job losses were an unfortunate aspect of rebranding the service centre.

“We are aware that these closures will cause short-term job losses and are working to minimize the duration of the closures,” he said. “We are confident that any job losses in the service centre operations will be temporary and that the current employment levels will be re-established once the service centres are redeveloped and fully operational.”

The Cookstown site was originally developed in the mid to late-1960s. Prior to 1985, Gulf Canada was the tenant and it was later rebranded to Petro-Canada in 1986 (Petro Canada is now Suncor Energy). McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada became the subtenant and refurbished the site in 1985. Prior to that, there was a Wayfare restaurant at the location. The MTO recognizes the importance of providing drivers with opportunities to stop and rest during their travel, Nichols said.

“The new highway service centres (ONroutes) feature eco-friendly and family-friendly facilities,” he said, adding they will offer a variety of dining options, fuel, increased parking for cars and trucks, public telephones (including teletypewriters, a tool that allows deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals make a phone call), pet areas, seasonal picnic areas, convenience stores, tourism information and fully-accessible washrooms.

New Schools Coming to Barrie, Angus, Bradford & Orillia

Ministry funding new schools in the county

Simcoe County is shaking the dust off its shovels to build four new schools within the next three years.

The announcement comes from the Ministry of Education, which gave the nod to the Simcoe County District School Board and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board to build one new high school in south-end Barrie, another in Orillia, as well as public and Catholic elementary schools in Bradford, all opening by 2016.

“This is very positive for us,” said John Dance, superintendent of facility services at the Simcoe County School District Board. “On our list of capital projects in 2012, we put in our priorities with the hope of getting them built. We're really excited that on our list, the top three were all granted.”

The south-end Barrie school was originally slated to take the load off Barrie Central Collegiate as it aged and needed extensive boiler repairs. However, a partnership struck with the City of Barrie and the public school board during accommodation review committee (ARC) meetings in 2010 left Central open to students until at least 2014.

In a memorandum presented to Barrie city councillors Monday by Carla Ladd, the city's chief administrative officer, she noted they were pleased with the number and variety of proposals submitted to the city to build everything from residential developments, educational services, recreational facilities, childcare, food and beverage services, as well as for general interest on the Central site.

“We're still proceeding and working the school board, trying to find viable partners and to move forward with Barrie Central,” said city spokeswoman Rebecca James-Reid.

The new south-end school, currently referred to as the New South Barrie secondary school, will be built in the general area of south Mapleview Drive on the east side of Yonge Street with an expected opening date of 2016, Dance said.

The Bradford South West elementary school – expected to open in 2014 — is also a growth school, taking the overflow from Fieldcrest Elementary.

The new Orillia secondary school is a replacement school for both Park Street Secondary School and Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute which will be opened on the Park Street school lands in 2015.

“In Orillia, there are two older facilities and enrolment is down from where it was a few years ago,” Dance said, adding it will be up to the community to chose a new name for the conjoined school.

The south-end Barrie and Orillia's high schools will cost $26.5 million and $27.5 million respectively. The public elementary will come in around $9.7 million.

Dance said in previous years, the ministry has approved schools that weren't considered the county's top priorities, but decisions were based on funding models at the time.

Hewitt's Creek Public School, the last public school built in Barrie, in 2009, has more than 200 children in kindergarten and Innisdale Secondary School can't handle the incoming load. It was built for 1,150 students and currently has more than 1,700.

“It's well over capacity,” Dance said. “The South Barrie (school) wasn't granted on numbers currently in the system, but the kids coming up in the schools now.”

Other items on the board's wish list to build or replace that weren't addressed by the ministry this time around, include additions to Innisfil Central Public School, Elmvale District High School, Victoria Harbour Elementary School and Nottawasaga Creemore Public School. Both Ardtrea Cumberland Beach Elementary School and Midland Secondary School, which are slated for replacement or consolidation, were also put forward to another year's budget.

“Our board has made great efforts to make capital requests that are financially sound and more importantly, based on the long-term needs of both our current and future students,” said Robert North, chairman of the Simcoe County District School Board.

The ministry also released another $9.4 million for a new Catholic elementary school in the town of Bradford West Gwillimbury.

It's expected to hold 470 students and will open in September 2015.

"This is a high growth area and we have been experiencing a shortage of space in our Bradford West Gwillimbury schools," said Brian Beal, director of education at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic board.

"We are very pleased that the Ministry of Education recognized the need for this new Catholic school. The students, staff and families in this community will benefit greatly from a new facility,” he said.

Cheryl Brown, Examiner - Photo - Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School Principal Chris Samis stands in the then soon-to be-completed school cafeteria at the Angus high school. Simcoe County has received funding approval from the Ministry of Education for four more schools, including a new high school in Barrie's south end. MARK WANZEL FILE PHOTO